Welt-cutting machine.



G. P. STANBON.

WELT CUTTING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 31, 1906.

L1 15,123., Patented 001;. 27, 19145 4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

iimfgew Inventor 0am Charles P zslanbon. 02M ##WWZN 19 mmgw gawk,

THE NORRIS PETERS C41, PHorO-LITHQ. WASHINGTON. D. C.

O. P. STANBON.

WELT CUTTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 31, 1906 L1 15 120 Patented 0ct.27,1914.

4 SHEETSSHEET 2.

I THE NORRIS PETERS (70.. PHOTO-LITM v. wAsHlNumN, n. c

APPLICATION FILED MAR 31 1906.

G. P. STANBON.

WELT CUTTING MACHINE.

Patented Get. 2?, 1914.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

IHE NORRIS PETERS ca. PHOTO LITHOQ WASHINAJTON. r). C.

U. P. STANBON.

WELT CUTTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 31, 190

1,1 15,123, Patented 063221914.

4 SHEETSSHEET 1.

r? &

IllllllllllllllHllHlll Mines 's e gs 1mm; miar 62M 54 Km 9 M flit? THENORRIS PETERS 60.. PHOTOLITh wAsHINGToN. D. c.

pnrrnn sfrnrns Fin CHARLES P. STANBON, OF LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR,BY MESNE ASSIGN- MENTS, TO UNITED SHOE MACI-II NTERY COMFANY, OFPATEBSON, NEW JERSEY, A

CORPORATION 013 NEW JERSEY.

WELT-CUTTING- MACHINE.

Application filed March 31,

1 b all whom it may concern Be it known that I, Gunnms P. S'rANnoN, acitizen of the United States, residing at Lynn, in the county of Essex,State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in lVelt-GuttingMachines, of which the following description, in connection with theaccompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters on the drawingsrepresenting like parts.

My invention relates to boot and shoe machinery, more particularly tomachines for slitting, grooving, beveling or skiving welts.

In the manufacture of welted boots and shoes, he welts are usuallysupplied to the trade in rolls of or approximating the desired widthsand thicknesses but not otherwise prepared for use.

One of the objects of my invention is to produce a machine for preparinga welt for upon the shoe and to that end comprises a machine adapted toreceive a welt from the roll or a reel upon which the roll is placed andto chamfer or bevel the edge of the welt that is to rest or fit againstthe shoe upper, to groove the under side to receive the stitches of theinseam, to ski've the surface of the welt uniformly at desired depth ortaper it toward either edge, and to cut .al or transverse slashes orslits in its ace, adjacent one edge and suitably spaced one fromanother, to permit stretching or contracting said asthe welt is curvedor shaped to the edge of the sole with the body of the weltapproximately in the plane of the insole. Suitable feeding mechanism isprovided for presenting the welt to the action of the cutting tools andfor thereafter reeling it up in a suitable manner for subsequent use andto facilitate handling. By providing a machine to secure these resultsautomatically, greater uniformity is obtained in the completed orprepared welt than when the operations are manual, and furthermore, asaving of labor, time and expense results. These and other objects andfeatures of my invention, however, will be best understood andappreciated from the following description, when considered inconnection with the accompanying drawings, of a machine typifying oneembodiment of my invention and sethe Specification of Letters Patent.-

Patented Get. 2?, M114.

1386. Serial No. 305,109.

lected for purposes of illustration, the scope of the invention beingmore particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring to the drawings: Figure 1 is a "front elevation of a completemachine se lected for illustration; Fig. 2, an elevation of its leftside; Fig. 3, an enlargement of the upper part of the machineillustrated in Fig. 1, to show the welt cutting and feed ing mechanism;Fig. 4, a similar and partially sectional detail of the left side of themachine; Fig. 5, a horizontal section taken on the line 55 Fig. 4-; Fig.(3, a vertical section on line 6(% Fig. 3 from the left; Fig. 7, a planand partial horizontal section of the welt guiding frame to show themovable guide and the adjusting mechanism of the edge beveling knife;Fig. 8, a horizontal section on line 88, Fig. 4; Fig. 9, a verticalsectional detail through the axis of the reel shaft and friction pulley,and Fig. 10 a view of the finished welt.

In the embodiment of my invention herein illustrated, see Figs. 1 and 2,the machine is provided with a usual column, 1, and head, 2, on which issecured a supporting frame 3, for the welt cutting and feedmechanism.This frame has uprights, a: and 5, provided with suitable bearings forhorizontal feeding wheel shafts, 6 and 7, arranged one above the other.Upon the front end of each of these shafts is a feeding wheel,respectively numbered, 8 and 9, in the drawings (see Figs. and 8); theupper wheel 8, however, also constituting a welt supporting wheel tosustain the welt, 10, as it is subjected to the action of the slittingand skiving tools presently to be described. The edge of the wheel 8,which will be hereinafter denominated as the welt supporting wheel, maybe made smooth or it may be roughened, while that of the lower orfeeding wheel 9, is made rough or is milled to cause it to grasp or biteupon the welt, 10, which is to be passed over the top of the weltsupporting wheel and around between said wheels and to be fed by theirrotation (Fig. 1). To secure such feeding, said wheels, 8 and 9, arerotated in opposite directions by gear wheels, 11 and 12, respectivelymounted on the rear ends of said shafts 6 and 7 and in mesh with oneanother, the lower shaft, 7, having immedi-- ately exterior to said gearwheel, 12, a worm gear 13, which is rotated by the worm 14 on a countershaft 15. This counter shaft, 15, join" aled in suitable bearings in theframe 3, has a pulley, 16, on its right end, which is connected. by abelt, 17, to a drive wheel, 18, on the corresponding end of a driveshaft, 19, near the base of the column, the rotation of which rotatesthe worm and the connect ed gears, to cause the feed wheels to rotate inopposite directions and present the welt to the action of the cuttingtools. The opposite end of said'drive shaft, 19, has the usual fast andloose pulleys, 20, 21, adapted to be driven from a power shaft in theusual manner.

To permit separation of the welt supporting and feeding wheels, ordepression of the feeding wheel to facilitate insertion of the weltbetween it and the welt supporting wheel, and that the latter may beautomatically and vertically adjustable to adapt itself to differentthicknesses of welt, I have, inthc present instance, (Figs. '4 and 8),mounted the feeding wheel shaft, 7, to swing or oscillate in a verticalplane, by pivotally supporting its rear bearing and by making thebearing for the front end reciprocatory. As herein shown (Figs. 4 and8), the rear oscillatory mounting comprises a trunnioned sleeve, 22(Fig. 8), which is pivoted intermediate its ends by horizontalsupporting screws, 23, tapped through the upright 5, and held byclamping nuts 23*, the pointed ends 24, of said screws engaging conicalrccesses 25, formed in said sleeve 22. Said upright 5 is provided with avertical and transverse recess, 26, to receive said shaft, 7 and itsbearing sleeve, 22, and to permit such vertical oscillations thereof asmay be required. To permit the front end of said shaft 7 with itsfeeding wheel, 9, to be elevated or depressed, the upright, 4, isprovided with a vertical recess, 27, (Fig. 4), transversely arranged toreceive a box, 28, loosely mounted on said shaft, 7, and forming avertically movable bearing therefor. This box, 28, is square in crosssection, its vertical sides, 29, Fig. 3, bearing against the verticalwalls, 30, of said recess, 27, which act to guide said box in itsmovements while confining it and thereby said feeding wheel, 9, to swingin a vertical plane passing through the axis'of the upper shaft, 6, sothat said feeding wheel, 9, is always presented in proper relation tothe cooperating welt supporting wheel 8 for feeding purposes. F ornormally holding said box 28, elevated with the feeding wheel in feedingrelation to the welt supporting wheel, 8, a coil spring, 31 (Fig. 4), isinterposed with its upper end bearing against said her and its lower endseated in a vertical socket or circular opening, 32, formed in saidupmay be and is automatically depressed by.

the thickness of the welt or elevated by the action of the coil spring,31, so that the feeding mechanism is adapted for use with any of theusual thicknesses of welt, the feeding action not being interrupted byany variation thereof nor requiring any other adjustment, the regulationbeing entirely automatic.

In inserting or positioning the welt between the welt supporting andfeeding wheels, 8 and 9, the feeding wheel may be positively depressedto facilitate placing the welt therebetween. The means for securing thismovement, in the present instance, comprises a horizontal pivoted,cylindrical rod, 33 (Figs. 3 and 4), having a rectangular recess 34(Fig. 3), in its periphery, the flat or slab face, 35, of which, bearsupon the upper horizontal face of the square box, 28. The outer end ofthis depressing rod, 33, is provided with a. crank arm or handle, 36, by

which it may be turned or rotated in-its.

bearings, thereby, through the action of the slab face, 35, on the faceof said box, positively depressing the latter, 28, and consequently saidfeeding wheel, 9, sufiiciently, to permit ready insertion or removal ofthe welt. By returning said handle 36, normal, herein shown as verticalposition, the coil spring 31, is permitted again to elevate said box 28and the feeding wheel to its feeding position.

For supporting the roll of welt as received from the trade and topresent the strip to the feeding mechanism, by which it is brought intocutting relation to the cutting tools, I have, in the present instance,provided the following instrumentality: Mounted at the. base of thecolumn (Figs. 1 and 2) upon a horizontal stud, 37, is a core or quill38, upon which are two disks, 39, 40, the outer one, 39, being removableto permit the roll of welt to be centered on said quill after which saidouter disk 39, is again secured in place in suitable manner to hold theroll thereon. The quill and the disks being loosely mounted on saidstud, the roll of welt is readily unwound, its free end being carried upover a guide roller, 41 (Fig. 1), and a guide 42, respectively carriedor formed upon supporting arms, 43, 44, secured to the frame 3, andcolumn 1. The welt is next carried through a welt guiding frame ortrough, 45 (Figs. 3, 6 and 7) which is provided with a horizontal stud,46 (Fig. 6), normally secured or retained in place within a clamping orsplit head, formed upon the upright 4, jaws 47, of which are clamped bymeans of the screw bolt 48, and

to its 4 by means of which said welt guiding trough upper horizontal oroverhanging wall, 49'

(Figs. 3 and 6), upon which is supported a depending flat spring 50 andvertical adj listing screw 51, by which thetensi-on of the spring uponthe welt passed beneath it and pressed by it against the bottom plate orsupporting wall 52, of the guiding trough may be varied as desired orrequired. To adapt the guiding frame to receive welts of differentwidths, its front edge is provided with an adjustable edge gage orguiding plate, 53. In the resent instance, this plate is carried orsupported on a horizontal rod, (Fig. 7), which is loosely and slidablymounted in said guiding trough (Figs. 3, 6 and 7 Said rod, 54:, extendsthrough said frame and its outer end is threaded to receive a nut, 55,between which and said trough a coil spring, 56, encircling said rod, isinterposed and normally acting to hold said or guiding plate, 53, inward(Figs. 6 and 7). The opposite or front end of this gage supporting rod5a, is provided with a handle, 57, to facilitate pulling the gageforward in inserting the welt. This gage is provided with a horizontalportion, 58, to rest upon the bottom plate of the trough, with an innervertical edge, 59, to bear upon the edge of the welt, and an outerturned down portion,60, drilledto receive the supporting rod and torestupon the outer edge, 61, of the guiding trough when in its normalposition. This guiding trough carries the edge beveling or featheringtool, 62 (Figs. 3, 6 and 7), vertically mounted in. the bottom plate ofsaid trough and held in adjusted position by means of the set screw 62.

The welt moving and skiving tools or knives, 71 and 72, and the footplate, 70, are adjustably mounted in a vertically ex tended arm, 63(Figs. right, l a. portion of which is offset 4:) from said upright topermit upon the welt fed over the welt supporting wheel 8 which, asdescribed, is mounted on tcior to said upright at. This arm, 63, isprovided with rectangular vertical, peripheral grooves or recesses, G l,65, 66, in. its front and back faces (see Figs. 4c and 5), respectivelyto receive the carriers 67, 68 and 63, for the foot plate, 70, thegrooving tool, 71, and the skiving tool, 72. That these carriers may beseparately adjusted vertically, each has a vertical adjusting stud orguide pin 73, (Fig. at), threaded at its lower end into the top of itscarrier, the upper ends of the guide pins, extending vertically throughperforations or openings in the upper walls 74'.- (Fig. l), of saidrecesses, and a lifting plate, 75, and having squared heads, 76, bearingupon the upper surface of said lifting plate. For normally holding thesepins and their tool carriers depressed, each pin is encircled by acoilspring 77 interposed between said WtLllS,74c, and the upper 3 and l), ofthe up-' the tools to act .68, preferably by face of the carriers. Eachof said carriers is square in cross section (Fig. 5) the inner faces ofeach bearing against and adapted to slide in the vertical rectangularrecess in which it is mounted. These carriers are retained in place bymeans of the face plates, 78, 7 9, secured to the opposite lateral facesof said arm, 63, respectively. This arrange ment permits independentadjustment of each carrier and its tool, the squared or otherwise shapedheads of'tho adjusting pins being adapted to receive a key, wrench, orother tool for screwing them up or down to adjust the tools as desired.In order that said carriers and their tools may be simul taneouslyelevated or depressed, said vertical arm, 63, in the present instance,has a vertical extension, 80 (Figs. 1 and 3), upon which is pivoted ahandle lifting lever, 81, its inner forked end 82, being pivoted to avertical car, 83, on said lifting plate, 7 5. By elevating or depressingthe handle lever, 81, and said lifting plate, 7 5, the carriers andtools carried thereby are simultaneously lowered or elevated. Forholding or looking the lifting plate elevated against the action of saidsprings, 77, said lever, 81, is provided with a spring controlled latchlever, 84 (Fig. 3), pivoted at 85, on said handle, the inner or latchingend 86, of said latch lever, 84, hearing on a cam shaped lug, 87, formedon said extension, 80, the lug having a vertical drop or notch, 88, intowhich said inner end of the latch is moved by its spring, 89, when thehandle, 90, of the lifting lever is sufficiently depressed or the lifting plate correspondingly elevated. By this arrangement a reversemovement of said lever is prevented, until in grasping the handle, 90,of the lifting lever, the outer end of the latch lever, 84-, isdepressed, raising its latching end 86, out of engagement *ith saidnotch, 88, thus permitting elevation of said lifting lever, 81, so thatthe lifting plate and tools carried thereby may be lowered or droppedinto operative position.

The foot, (Fig. 3), is recessed into and secured at one side of itscarrier, 67, and is curved downwardly and extended horizontally to bearupon the upper face of the welt for holding it against the weltsupporting wheel 8. The tubular grooving tool or cutter, 71, isadjustably secured to its carrier, clamping plates, 91 (Figs.

3 and at), and the clamping screw, 92, the

grooving tool being thereby presented at a suitable angle to the upperor what in the finished shoe will be the bottom of the welt, forgrooving it and to carry off through its axial through and throughopening the ma terial out from the welt. The skiving tool 72 (Fig. 1),has beveled sides fitting into a dovetail recess or groove formed in theend of a holder, 93,pivoted to the carrier, 69, a

clamping plate, 94:, and screw 95, at the outer end of said holder, 93,securing the skiving tool in desired horizontal adjustment. The oppositeend of this holder, 93, is pivotally connected to the outer face of thecarrier, 69, and is held in desired angular adjustment by the clampingbolt, 96, securing said holder in desired position, the elevation ordepression of which varies the beveling action of the skiving tool. Topermit vertical adjustment of the carriers 68 and 69, with their toolholders 91 and 93, the face plate 78 is provided with slots 78, and theupright -l-, with a rabbet 66*. By this arrangement of the skiving tool,the welt may be tapered or beveled toward either edge as desired or theupper surface skived uniformly at greater or less depth according to thevertical adjustment of its carrier, 69, by

means of its adjusting stud orpin, 73.

One important feature of my invention is the slitting tool, 9?, or theknife which cuts the incisions or transverse slits or slashes in thebottom surface of the welt which permits the welt being shaped to lie inthe plane of the'insole. By making incisions in the body of the Weltrather than by cutting clear through a strong and durable welt isproduced whlch is readily shaped to lie in the plane of the insole;

in the embodiment of my invention herein illustrated (Figs. 8 and 4-),this knife is mounted upon a carrier arm, 98, the opposite end of whichis pivotally connected at 99, to the base of the supporting frame.

The split clamping head, 100, of this carrier is pivotally connected toa link 101 which,

at its lower end is in turn pivotally connected to a crank oin, 102, onthe front end of a horizontal Tossjshaft, 103, rotated by means of abevel gear, 10-1, at its rear end and which is meshed with a similargear, 105, upon the left end of the counter shaft, 15.

In operation, the rotation of the cross shaft, 103, and its crank pin,102, produces a rapid oscillatory motion of the slitting knife towardand from the traveling welt, slitting the surface of the welt adjacentits outer edge laterally and periodically, said slit being obliquely cutinto the surface of said welt long .tudinally of its length, with thelength of the slits transverse thereto. The clamping head of the carrieris grooved to receive the beveled sides of the slitting tool or knife,97, and is provided with a clamping bolt, 106, to hold said tool inplace and to permit its adjustment to compensate for wear or to vary thedepth of the slit. The cutting edge of the slitting knife is inclined,8) so that the slit cut therebyr, gun, u.....' j 1 which they operateupon the welt, continuously fed into cutting relation thereto by theaction of the feeding Wheels 8 and 9. By reference to Figs. 1 and 3, itWill be apparent that the edge beveling knife, 53, is the first tooperate upon the moving welt while it is passing through the Welt trough45. As the welt moves over the inner end of saidtrough it is subjectedto the action of the grooving tool, 71, and then passes onto the weltsupporting roll 8, uvhere it is skived by the knife, 7 2. As the 'weltis then fed down over the curve of the feeding or supporting wheel, 8,it is slashed or slit by the rapid oscillations of the slit- 1 ingknife, 97, the convex surface of the ,w-elt being more especiallyadapted to be operated upon than when presenting a flat surface, notonly by stretching said surface over the wheel 8, but by curving and 85'feeding the Welt down out of the Way of said knife 97 as it moves towardand from the welt and thereby permitting a continu-; one feed thereof. For receiving the welt after it has been suitably out or shaped and fedthrough the feeding wheels, the machine, in the present instance (Figs.1 and 2), is provided with a' rotary wheel com prising, for example, across frame, 107,

secured at'its center to the front end of a 95 horizontal shaft, 108,journaled in suitable bearings, 109, of the column, each of the armshaving a horizontal pin, 110, upon which the welt is wound as it is fedthrough the machine, the outer ends of saidpins being bent radiallyoutward to hold the welt inplace. The rear ends of thesepins, 110, beingtapped into the arms of the cross, the bent ends maybe turned inwardlytoward the axis of the reel permit- 105 ting ready removal of theloosely coiled welt when desired. When removed the natural tendency ofthe coil or roll of welt is to collapse, presenting a bundle of suitablycut and loosely arranged Welt espe- 11o cially adapted to be tempered orotherwise treated or prepared for use as by immersion in water orotherwise. This arrangement avoids the necessity of unwinding the cutwelt from a reel or the like having a core or on which the welt iscompactly wound, before it can be properly treated. For rotating thisreel and Winding up the welt, the opposite or rear end of the shaft isprovided with a friction pulley, 111, loosely mounted thereon between apair of friction disks, 112, 113 (Figs. 2 and 9), the inner one 113,being fast on said shaft, 108, and the outer disk, 112, splined thereto.The end of this shaft, 108, receives a spring 12 washer, 114, and isthreaded to receive a clamping nut, 115. By rotating or adjusting thisnut, the tension of the spring may be varied to produce the desiredfriction between the disks and pulley, so that there or less slipbetween them. The edge of the pulley is grooved to receive a round belt,116, connecting said pulley, 111, with a grooved pulley, 117, fast uponthe rear end of the lower feed shaft, 7, and rotating it simultaneouslytherewith. Obviously the disks and shaft connected therewith may berotated fast or slow as desired, by adjustment of the clamping nut tocause the welt to be reeled fast or slow.

To prevent irregular laying of the welt upon the reel, a reel feedingdevice is provided comprising, in the present instance, a horizontalreciprocatory slide, 118, slotted at its front end to receive the weltas it passes from the feeding wheels over a guide roller, 119, at thefront of the machine. This slide is supported and guided by a suitablehanger or bracket, 120 (Figs. 3 and a and at its rear end is providedwith a headed horizontal pin, 121, which is received and engaged by theforked end, 122, of an oscillatory lever, 123, pivoted intermediate itsends to an arm, 124, of the supporting frame (Fig. 3). At its upper endsaid lever, 123, has a longitudinal slot, 123, to receive a removablecrank pin or screw bolt, 125, on the side of a fixed pulley or wheel,126, on a short horizontal shaft, 127, j ournaled in said arm, 124. Theinner end of this shaft, 127, is provided with a worm gear, 128, meshingand rotated by a worm, 129, on the welt supporting wheel shaft 6.Rotation of said shaft causes rotation of the worm gear, said pulley,126, producing an oscillation of the lever, 128, and a reciproeating inand out motion of the welt feeding may be more slide, 118, the gears andmotions being timed. to cause the welt to be reeled uniformly upon thereel both axially and radially.

In placing the welt upon the machine the outer disk of the quill isremoved, the roll,

of weltplaced in position on the sleeve, and the disk again secured inplace. The free end of the welt is then carried up over the guideroller, 41, the guide, 42, and through the guiding trough 45, the lowerreel turning freely to unwind the welt. The edge gage or guide, 58, ispulled out sufliciently to facilitate placing the welt with its lowerface uppermost beneath the spring 50, and to carry it over the weltsupporting wheel, 8, the tools being elevated simultaneously bydepressing the lever 90, till the welt is in place when it may beraised, the tools then holding the welt in place. The handle 36, of thefeeding wheel depressor is next turned to separate he Wheels 8 and 9 andpermit the insertion of the welt, 10,- between them, when it isreleased. The welt is then carried over the guide roller, 119, andthrough the slot in the reel slide 118, and its end is secured to one ofthe horizontal cross pins of the upper reel in any suitable manner as bybending the end of the welt around it. Each tool is then adjusted to cutas desired, the several adjustments enabling the machine when operatedto bevel its inner edge at a desired angle to it against the upper, tocut a groove of desired depth in the bottom of the welt; to skive thewelt uniformly to greater or less depth or to taper its surface towardeither edge by respectively raising or lowering the skiv- -ing tool andby the angular adjustment of its holder; and lastly to slit the outerwelt edge transversely on what will be its bottom in the finished shoe,to permit it to be laid and fitted around the edge of the sole in theplane of the insole but without weakening it by the removal of leather,the finished welt being illustrated in Fig. 10.

Any of these operationsmay in certain cases be omitted. In the operationof the machine the feeding wheels feed the welt along in cuttingrelation to the respective cutting tools in the order above mentioned,unwinding the welt from the quill and winding it up on the skeletonreel, the slitting tool being oscillated toward and from the movingwelt-to cut the slits in manner alreadydescribed and without checkingthe travel of the welt.

Claims:

1. A welt cutting machine, comprising a welt guide, a grooving tool,means to feed the welt continuously to said tool to cause the groovingtool to produce a longitudinal groove in the welt in its passage throughsaid guide, a welt slitting tool, and means to cause said slitting toolto act upon and slit the portion of the welt engaged by the feeedingmeans as the latter draws the welt through the machine.

2. A welt cutting machine comprising a grooving tool, a slitting tooland a welt support having stationary and moving portions, said toolsbeing arranged to groove and slit the surface of a welt adjacent itsopposite edges while supported on and as it passes over said stationaryand movable portions of the welt support.

3. A- welt cutting machine comprising a skiving tool, a slitting tool, amoving welt support, and means for feeding a welt strip over said movingsupport, said tools being arranged to skive and slit said welt as itpasses over said support.

4:. In a machine for making welts, the combination of a welt supportprovided with a welt guide, a feathering tool projecting into said weltguide, a grooving tool, a slitting tool, means to reciprocate saidslitting tool, and means to feed the welt continuously past said tools,said grooving tool being arranged to act upon the welt and a groove itas it passes through said guide, and

said slitting tool arranged to slit said welt when engaged by saidfeeding means.

5. A welt cutting maehlne comprising a 6. A welt cutting machinecomprising grooving,-beveling,'skiving and slitting tools and ad ustingmeans therefor, a moving Welt support, means for movlng the weltcontinuously during the action of said tools, I and means for causingthe slitting tool to act on that part of the welt passing over and whileon said moving support.-

7. A welt cutting machine comprislng in combination a welt support overwhich the welt is passed, said support having a supporting surfacevcomprising a longitudinally curved port-ion and a substantially planeportion, a series of stationary cutters acting upon the welt as itpasses over the plane: surface of said support, and a slit cutter'movable in a curved path and co-acting with said welt support tov abovethe feeding Wheels for acting on the the curved surface of slit thewelt;

8. A welt cutting machine comprising in combination a welt support overwhich the Welt is passed, a series of stationary cutters yieldinglysupported relative to said support and acting upon the welt as it passesover said support, a movable slit cutter, and 1 means to reciprocate itin a curved path toward and from the support to slit the welt.

9. A welt cutting machine comprising in combination a rotatable weltsupport, a se-' ries of stationary cutters, a slit cutter, means toreciprocate it in a curved path toward and from the welt support, and afeeding device acting upon the welt beyond said tools to draw the weltpast said tools.

10. A welt cutting machine comprising in combination a welt support overwhich the welt is passed, a series of stationary yieldingly supportedcutters acting upon the welt as it passes over said support, means forsimultaneously moving said cutters out of operative relation with thewelt support, a movable slit cutter, and means to reciprocate it in acurved path toward and from the port to slit the welt.

11. In a machine of the class described, the combination, with a weltguide and means for operating on a welt in'its passage through saidguide, of a feed roll arranged to receive saidwelt in its passage fromsaid 13. In a machine for preparing welts, the

sup-

combination of a table for supporting and guiding the welt strip, a'pair of feeding wheels between which the Welt strip is passed, saidfeeding wheels being arranged below the welt supporting and guidingtable i and disposed one below the other to cause the welt strip to havean extended bearing about one of said feeding wheels, means foroperating said feeding wheel to feed the welt strip over said table,tools for acting 1 i on the welt strip, a presser to press upon the weltstrip as it is fed by the feeding wheels, and means for raising thepresser and separating the feed wheels to facilitate the introductionand removal of the welt strip.

14. In a machine for preparing wells, the combination of means forsupporting and guiding the Welt strip, a pair of feeding wheels betweenwhich the welt strip is passed and operating means therefor, saidfeeding wheels having their axes one below the other and both below theline of feed of the welt strip as it passes the welt supporting andguiding means, and tools arranged welt strip to prepare the same as itis fed.

15. In a machine for preparing welts, the combination of a table forsupporting the welt strip as it is fed, a pair of feed wheels betweenwhich the welt strip is passed, said feed wheels being arranged adjacentone endof and with their axes one below the other and both below thetable to cause the welt strip to have an extended bearing about theupper feed wheel, a tool for acting on the welt strip as it is fed, apresser for pressing upon the welt, and means for raising the tool andpresser.

16. In a machine for preparing welts, the

combination of a table over which the welt upper portion ofitssupporting surface ad- 'jacent one end of the table, and the other ofsaid wheels having its axis lower than the axis of the upperfeed wheelto cause the welt strip to pass about more than a quadrant of the upperfeed wheel as it is drawn between the'two, a tool for acting upon thewelt strip as it is fed, and means foractuating the feeding rolls.

17. In a machine for preparing welts, the

combination of welt strip supporting and guiding means, a tool foracting on the welt as 1t passes along said supporting and guidmg means,a feed roll arranged to receive.

the welt stripand support the same upon its surface after it leaves thewelt supporting and guiding means, and a second feed rollcooperatingwith the first named feed roll at a portion of its surfacebelow the axis of the first-named roll to cause said strip to travelover the said supporting and guiding means and about an extensiveportion of the first named feed roll.

18. In a machine for preparing welts, the combination of Welt stripsupporting and guiding means, a tool for acting upon the welt, a feedingwheel below and adjacent said means and about a portion of which thewelt is passed, a second feeding Wheel below the first-named wheel andbetween which and the first named wheel the welt travels after passingabout an extended bearing portion of the first named feeding wheel, andmeans for separating said wheels to permit the introduction of the weltstrip.

19. A welt preparing machine having, in combination, a work table havinga part to engage one edge of the welt, a rod slidably mounted beneaththe surface of the table and projecting to the front and to the rear ofthe table, a movable edge gage mounted on the front of the rod andprojecting over the top of the table to bear against the other edge ofthe welt, a spring connected to the rear part of the rod for holding theedge gage yieldingly against the welt, and means for moving the edgegage against the spring when a fresh welt is to be placed upon thetable.

20. A welt preparing machine having, in combination, a work table, apart associated with the table to guide one edge of the welt, a rodslidably mounted beneath the surface of the table, and a movable edgegage mounted upon the end of the rod and projecting over the top of thetable to bear against the other edge of the welt and guide the weltbetween said part and said movable edge gage.

21. In a welt preparing machine, the combination of a supporting frame,feeding means for taking the welt from a source of supply, tools foracting upon'the welt, a reel for winding up the welt after it has beentreated by said tools and means to cause the treated welt to be wound onthe reel in open spiral coil formation for the passage to all parts ofthe treated welt of the tempering liquid when the coiled mass isimmersed therein.

22. In a welt preparing machine, the-combination of a support over whichthe welt is passed from source of supply, tools for acting on andcutting the welt as it is passed over said support, feeding means forthe welt, and means for winding the cut welt in loose spiral coils in acondition to permit tempering the welt in wound bulk as de livered bythe machine.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES P. STANBON.

Witnesses:

SIDNEY F. SMITH, l. GRACE HoLBRooK.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Iatents,

Washington, D. C.

